


In Between

by AloneShadow



Series: Whumptober 2020 [5]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Broken Friendship, Dark Steve Rogers, Emotional Hurt, Feels, Friendship, Gen, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:53:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26896999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AloneShadow/pseuds/AloneShadow
Summary: “I’m not a suspect,” Steve said, looking at him with a cold glare, “I’m guilty.”
Series: Whumptober 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948396
Kudos: 11





	In Between

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a long fic I doubt I'll work on anytime soon, so I decided to turn this piece into some kind of one-shot for the event. If you're looking for a proper ending, maybe skip this one. 
> 
> Prompts used: N 8, Isolation / N 17, Wrongfully accused.

The silence was finally getting to him. After five hours spent sitting there, hands handcuffed to the table in front of him… After having those screams echoing inside his brain all that time, they finally allowed a few moments of silence, guilt and fear slowly beginning to reach for his heart like cold hands.

Steve took a deep breath, the first one, he realized, since he has been moved into the little room, and opened his eyes: there was still blood on his hands, and over his shirt- blood that was not his. 

Slowly turning his right hand, the handcuff tingled slightly, the metal chain locking his wrists to the table following the movement. He watched the blood on his palm, screams echoing around him again, even if he knew they were not real. 

_But they were real_ , he thought. _Five hours ago, it was real…_

_“Please”_ another voice whispered into his ear. _“Please, help…”_

Steve’s jaw closed tightly, his body going stiff while he once again fought the instinct to pull on the chain and free himself. 

It would have been so easy- but also useless. He knew there was no point. It would only create more problems… And, most certainly, more casualties. 

_That’s what they are for you, now? Casualties?_

Steve heard his own voice commenting… No. That wasn’t his voice. That was the voice of Captain America, standing in front of him, on the other side of the table, sounding so disappointed, so cold...

Steve kept his eyes down. He never liked being confined in tight places. That wasn’t a mission. He wasn't just sitting there, waiting for a briefing, or for someone to come pick him up, no… That was the prelude to his punishment. That was the closest he could get to freedom at the moment. Probably for a long time. 

_That’s right. And it will only get worse._ Captain America said. 

Steve took another deep breath, placing his hand palm-down on the table. He saw so much blood during the war, but that was different. What happened five hours before wasn’t the war… 

_No, it wasn’t,_ the Captain agreed. _What happened five hours ago was just your downfall._

The screams came back then, stronger than before. 

Steve shut his eyes, hands closed in tight fists. He had no idea what could have happened there if the door didn’t open and someone entered the room. 

Looking up, trying to keep his breathing under control, his eyes widened as he watched Tony Stark closing the door and turning to him. “Tony-?” 

“What is going on?” He cut short. “No, seriously: _what the hell_?” 

“What are you doing here?” 

“What are _you_ doing here? What is all this about? Can you explain to me what happened before I go insane?” 

_Come on. Tell him._ Captain America said. 

Steve forced himself to ignore his own voice. He wasn’t expecting Tony to be there, of all people… Somehow, it made him feel worse. “How did you know-?” 

“It's one of my labs that you turned into a horror show! Those people worked for me!” he shot back. 

_That might be a problem._ The Captain murmured. 

Steve looked down in silence. 

“Really? You have nothing to say?” Tony insisted but got no response. “All I know so far is that you’re accused of mass murder, and I’ll be under investigation in five minutes too, since I just lied to the police for you!” 

“You shouldn’t have,” Steve said, eyes fixed on the handcuffs.

“Well, sorry if I wasn’t expecting to see _Captain America_ being accused of homicide today! Or that I'd be the only one in the entire station that knows who you are!” 

That made Steve look up at him. “They don’t know who I am?” 

“No, but we’re one call away from that. And as soon as the news will spread-“ 

“You should leave before that happens.” 

Tony blinked, taken aback, and Steve just looked down again. “Are you-? Steve, twelve people have died tonight, in one of _my_ laboratories, and _you_ are the only suspect-“ 

“I’m not a suspect,” Steve said, looking at him with a cold glare, “I’m guilty.” 

Tony found himself at loss for words. He could only stare at the man sitting there, handcuffed, with blood all over himself…

_You know what he’s thinking, don’t you?_ Captain America said, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. _The same man he fought with to save the world… The man everyone knows as a hero, unable to do wrong…_ The Captain sighed, _Who would have thought Tony Stark would be disappointed in you?_

__“Steve, if this is a joke-“_ _

__“Does it look like a joke to you?”_ _

__“Then what, you finally snapped?” Tony yelled back, angry. “How can you just sit here and say that you’re guilty?!”_ _

__“What else do you want me to say?” Steve asked, and saw Tony’s expression change for a moment: that wasn’t just anger and confusion... That was pure disbelief. Hurt, almost._ _

__“So you killed those people?” Tony asked then, his voice lower, “All of them?”_ _

__Steve breathed out but didn’t answer, looking down again._ _

__“No- no, you don’t get to look down, not this time,” Tony growled stepping forward, slamming both hands on the table. “Since you’re so proud of what you’ve done, look at me and tell me how you did it! Tell me how much fun you had murdering my entire research team!”_ _

___He’s got a point._ Captain America commented, voice low and flat. _ _

__Steve was starting to feel sick. “You already know-“_ _

__“ **That’s bullshit!** ” Tony screamed. “Tell me the truth! Tell me what is going on!” _ _

__The screams came back then, and the noises… The glass breaking, and the desperate calls for help- for mercy._ _

__Steve looked up at him, straight in the eyes. “If you believe that I can’t kill people, then you should read Howard’s reports again.”_ _

__Tony moved without thinking, grabbing Steve’s shirt, punching him in the face. He managed to hit him a second time before police officers rushed into the room, dragging him away._ _

__Somehow, Steve managed not to fall from the chair, but could taste blood in his mouth, flowing from a broken lip. Slowly sitting straight again, he watched the door slamming shut, and only then he allowed himself to drop the façade for a moment, only for a moment, feeling his heart pounding inside his chest, tears burning into his eyes._ _

___He worked so hard to get your trust,_ The Captain said, staring at the door before slowly turning to the other. _You think you’ll ever be able to rebuild that from here?_ _ _

__Steve kept breathing fast, those words hurting way more than he would have expected._ _

___Steve_ _ _

__He tried to ignore it again, but he never heard his own voice sound so sad, and so lost…_ _

__As their eyes met, the Captain asked, _You saw what happened in that lab. Who did it. Are you prepared to lose everything to protect him- or whoever he has become? Is he worth it?_ _ _

__Steve took a deep breath, the memories of what happened five hours before coming back at him like stabs in the chest, one after another… What he didn't stop- and the lives he couldn’t save._ _

__Steve looked down at the blood on his hands and couldn’t find the strength to answer that question._ _


End file.
